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Subway

Subway

List Price: $24.95
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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Let down by an atrocious DVD transfer
Review: This is one of Luc Besson's(Leon, The Fifth Element)early films. Set almost entirely in the Paris metro underground system, it follows a punkish man named Fred(Christopher Lambert of Highlander fame). He is on the run from some corporate characters and meets the beautiful Isabelle Adjani. It is not nearly as good as Leon, but does have some style. The DVD is atrocious though. The picture has got to be the worst one ever. The transfer looks like it was taken from an old video tape with the tracking out, it really has to be seen to be believed. Also, there are no chapter times. The sound is not much better too, and is very loud, probably because it is encoded in MPEG 2 compression. There are no extras as well. An OK film is let down badly by this transfer to DVD. It is cheapish but still not worth it. The film deserves a better score than 1 star, but the DVD doesn't.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The worst transfer and dubbing I've ever seen
Review: The quality of the image and sound is as bad as can be. The original french soundtrack is not even available. Avoid at all cost !

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Completely ruined by poor transfer
Review: What a waste of plastic. One of my favourite films by my favourite director completely ruined. The transfer is reminiscent of a 10 year VHS rental copy and suffers from VHS video dropouts throughout the film. It's full-frame and not widescreen. The sound is very hissy Pro-Logic, and worst of all, the most heinous crime is that he soundtrack is DUBBED into English and there's no French soundtrack available! Admittedly it is dubbed by Lambert, Adjani et al. themselves, but the fact that it's not the original language just ruins it for me. Seriously distance yourself from this version and keep your fingers crossed that eventually this film will get the careful DVD transfer it so rightly deserves.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great French New Wave flick
Review: This DVD of a great French New Wave flick was for years only viewable in a full screen version (not widescreen), with a fuzzy picture that was worse than a bootleg VHS tape; finally it's available in widescreen in the original French -- so BUY IT !!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This was the same guy that directed La Femme Nikita?
Review: Ok. Even though I am doing a review of the DVD, I saw the video version and it was dubbed as well. I am giving the movie an extra star just because DVD quality and subtitles usually add to the overall quality of foreign movies.

I doubt it. This is a stupid movie. Christopher Lambert is trying to be hip but looks lost. Adjani is cute but she is one of those timeless beauties, and 80s fashion never worked for her. Jean Reno is usually cool. Besson did figure out how to use him properly in Nikita and The Professional. In this one he drums. THere are also plots about Subway robbers and whacky whacky homeless people who start their own 80s pop band.

If you want dumb fun, watch Repo Man. Watch Repo Man over and over again. If you want a Luc Besson movie - just pretend that he didn't have a career before La Femme Nikita. It will be much better for you in the long run.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Subway on this DVD saddens me
Review: Despite truly wanting to experience this movie again and see Besson's early work in the context of his newer films, The Professional and Fifth Element, the greedy way this DVD presents this film angers and saddens me. Only the video distributor/publisher benefits from this lazy transfer to DVD, as they lure unsuspecting film lovers into purchasing this release. Watching this film in its current condition felt as if you had opened a leather-bound copy of a classic novel and found the distilled text of a Readers' Digest version inside.

The DVD arrives with only a single English audio track and no subtitles. The laughable English dub makes watching the film almost unbearable; the remixed music pales next to the original exciting soundtrack.

This is a slick, entertaining film with a fabulous cast of familiar Besson regulars: Jean Reno, as an annoying drummer; Eric Serra (Besson's music composer); a very 80's styled Isabelle Adjani; and Jean-Hugues Anglade as a roller skater--a far cry from his deadpan role as Zorg in Betty Blue (37°2 le matin).

Poor presentation ruins Subway. It's impossible to appreciate this work through this release. One can only hope for a more appropriate film-loving release of this important Besson film.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: ARRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Review: unfortunately this great (4 star) film has been badly transferred visually, and to make things worse, on the DVD version only has the English dub, not the original french audio track. The dubbing is appalling! Why? Why? Why? Really could do better. See me after class.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: WARNING!
Review: I rememberd this as a great movie but the DVD has been dubbed into english. WHY? Also, the visual quality is really poor. Stay away from this DVD!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: If you haven't seen this DVD yet, DON'T !
Review: Watching the movie on this DVD ruins a great movie. I've read all the reviews saying how bad the transfer is, and I didn't quite believe it. How bad can it be ? I finally got hold the DVD yesterday, it's BAD, in fact it's beyond BAD! The VHS tape (with French soundtrack/english subtitle) would be a much better choice, I think it would even offer better video than the DVD!

4.5 stars for the movie. 1 star for the DVD

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Great music, ok movie, terrible DVD
Review: Christopher Lambert can't act now, and this proves he never could. Still, the movie is about style and music, and as such succeeds. However, the DVD image quality is only as good as a poor video. It even has dropouts in the image. Audio is hardly better. The only good thing is that it cannot degrade more ...


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